The present invention relates to occupant safety devices within vehicles, and more particularly molded safety seats used in race cars, and methods of making and using said safety seats.
Vehicles provide convenient and usually safe transportation. Since almost the introduction of the automobile, people have been racing them, the goal being faster than one's competitors. The automobiles used for racing range from specially built futuristic designs to cars and trucks that have at least a passing resemblance to those driven on ordinary streets.
One concept that is similar in both racing and ordinary automobiles is the safety of occupants during collisions. Although the types of collisions experienced on ordinary streets and race tracks are similar, i.e., car-to-car collisions, car-to-barrier collisions, flips and combinations thereof, the forces exerted upon automobiles involved in collisions on the race track are typically many times greater. While ordinary automobiles have various overlapping safety devices—seat and shoulder belts and front and side airbags to name the obvious ones—these devices add weight to automobiles and may not necessarily be practical for use in racing automobiles. Accordingly, the designer, builder, and driver of racing automobiles must satisfy the competing requirements of providing safety devices for the driver while minimizing weight. Additional constraints may include requirements placed upon the racing automobiles by sanctioning bodies, ease of manufacture, interaction of the safety devices with other automobile components, driver comfort, and costs.
One such racing organization, racing under the umbrella organization called the National Association of Stock Car Automobile Racing (NASCAR), involves the racing of automobiles (cars and pick ups or trucks) that resemble those manufactured and sold to the public by large automobile companies such a Chevrolet, Ford, Dodge and Pontiac. These automobiles weigh in excess of 3,000 pounds and can reach speeds in excess of 200 mph. In collisions, drivers of such automobiles are subjected to severe and multi-directional forces. The use of conventional safety systems activated by a collision, such as the air bags found in newer model automobiles, are impractical and could increase the risks of injury to a driver of a racing automobile. Thus, one of the primary safety devices (another being the roll-cage enclosure which surrounds the driver's compartment) for such racing automobiles is the safety seat. The safety seat must not only offer protection to the driver, but it must also provide some measure of comfort to a driver. The seat must be strong enough to withstand certain forces without losing its structural integrity. A safety restraint system works in tandem with the seat to prevent the driver from being ejected from the seat during any collision. Typically, the safety restraint system employs a 5-point harness—two shoulder straps, a left and right lap belts and a crotch strap—or a 6-point harness—two shoulder straps, two lap belts and two straps circling a driver's thighs—all meeting at and releasably connected to the buckle manipulated by the driver. The opposing end of the straps and belts are secured to the roll cage or structural members of the vehicle such as door posts and floors.
The conventional safety seat used in NASCAR vehicles has a shell of shaped and welded aluminum covered in padding. Typically, the aluminum shell is comprised of a seat bottom that is welded to a seat back. Cut-outs in the aluminum shell allow safety restraint straps to pass through the seat for adjustment and connection to the buckle. The aluminum seat is secured to the roll cage and other vehicle structural members such as the frame.
The conventional seat, though having been used for many years, has several disadvantages. During welding, the aluminum may be damaged or the strength reduced because of the heat applied. Further, flaws in the weld may go undetected. In these instances, the structural integrity of the aluminum shell is weakened and may fail if subjected to the forces of a collision. Additionally, care must be taken to ensure that the paths of the safety restraint straps from their securement points on the roll cage or vehicle frame to the buckle are free of areas that may “catch” the straps or damage the straps during use. One point of particular interest is the opening in the aluminum seat, which could abrade the straps during use or even cut the straps during a collision, depending on the forces exerted on the driver and, correspondingly, on the straps. Further, the adjustment of the straps relative to the driver is limited because of their route through the openings in the seat. This deficiency has been exacerbated with the advent of head-and-neck restraints mandated by NASCAR sanctioning body. These devices are positioned around the neck of a driver, increasing the thickness of the neck region. This increased thickness restricts where the shoulder straps can be placed on the driver's shoulder area, which may cause the straps to bunch and not lay flat upon the driver's shoulder, decreasing comfort and potentially increasing the risk of the straps not being adjusted correctly. Another disadvantage of the conventional seat is the lack of adjustability, especially with respect to the height at which the seat supports the head of the driver. Further, although a lighter metal, the shell must be a certain thickness of aluminum to provide the necessary strength, which increases the weight of the seat. Finally, the manufacture and installation of a seat requires multiple steps from the welding of the shell to the installation of the seat in the vehicle including multiple attachment locations within the vehicle and finally to the installation of the safety restraint straps to the roll cage and other vehicle structural members and threading them through the openings in the seat after the seat has been installed in the vehicle. Each step of the manufacturing and installation process provides the opportunity to damage to the seat and straps as well as incorrectly attach and tighten the seat and straps to the roll cage and car structure. These opportunities for mistakes increases the risk of injury to the driver.
It is desired to create a seat that eliminates or at least reduces the above disadvantages while maintaining a safe and secure environment for the driver without unnecessarily increasing the overall weight of the car or the costs involved.